LOGINThe operating theater was hushed, the bright overhead lights casting harsh shadows over the sterile field. Harper stood at the head of the table, her heart pounding so hard she could feel it in her throat. This was the first surgery of its kind. An experimental procedure designed to reverse severe cardiomyopathy. No one had ever attempted it on a patient this far gone.Her hands trembled slightly as she looked down at Malakai's still form under the drapes. The man who had fought through hell to get back to her lay vulnerable on the table, his heart failing faster than anyone had predicted.'Please hold on, Kai,' she thought, swallowing the lump in her throat.Tyson stood to her right as her lead assistant, his presence steady and reassuring. Alisa, was on the other side, her eyes sharp and focused.Harper took a deep breath, forcing her voice to stay calm."Scalpel," she said.The surgery began.Harper's hands worked with absolute focus as she made the initial incision, expos
Malakai slipped towards the edge, catching himself at the last second with one hand on the jagged rock."Kai!" Harper screamed.Reyes laughed through the blood bubbling from his mouth."Look at that," he gasped. "Both of us... hanging by a thread. How poetic."Andrei and Aiden rushed to the edge. Aiden, despite his own injury, grabbed Malakai's wrist with both hands, pulling with all his strength."Hold on, Kai!" Andrei shouted, bracing himself. "We've got you!"Harper dropped to her knees at the edge, tears streaming down her face. She reached for Malakai's other hand, the sight of the waves below dizzying."Kai, please!" she sobbed. "Hold on!"Reyes' laughter turned into a wet, choking sound. His grip was slipping. He hung now by only three fingers, his eyes locked on Harper with manic intensity.Malakai's eyes darkened suddenly, dilating as a surge of unadulterated fury gripped him.The two parts of him—Kai and L—finally merged into one complete, unbreakable whole. The pain
The wind was merciless. It howled across the jagged cliffside, carrying the scent of salt. Waves crashed violently against the rocks below, each impact echoing.Harper's car came to a slow stop at the edge of the clearing. Her hands were shaking.Three hours.That was all Reyes had given her.Climbing all the way to the top of the cliff was strenuous but the stakes were too high to ignore.When she got to the top, the cold air whipped her hair around. Her eyes scanned the area immediately.And then, she saw him.Simon.Her father stood near the edge of the cliff, his hands bound, his body swaying slightly with the force of the wind. Two men stood on either side of him, gripping his arms tightly.He was very much alive for now. But he looked dazed as though he'd been drugged.Harper exhaled shakily."I'm here!" she called out, her voice almost snatched away by the wind. "I came alone!"Reyes stepped out from the shadows, dressed in black, immaculate as always."Right on tim
Later that night, after Harper's visit to her father's home, she stepped into Malakai's room again. He was still awake.His breathing was shallow, the oxygen line still in place, his skin pale against the sheets. His eyes found her instantly."Hey..." he whispered.She sat beside him, giving him a small smile."We're doing it," she said softly.His brow furrowed. "Doing what?""A private trial," she whispered. "My way."He stiffened."Harper...""My father approved it," she continued, her voice steady now. "We're bypassing the system. We'll use the original protocol... with adjustments."His eyes searched hers."...That's dangerous.""Yes.""...You could lose everything."She leaned down, pressing her forehead to his."I already lose everything if you die."That shut him up. His hand tightened weakly around hers."...You're terrifying when you're like this," he grinned.She smiled through her tears."...What are the odds?" he finally asked.She didn't answer immediately or lie.
The fluorescent lights in the administrative wing were bright enough to cause a blinding migraine.Harper stood across the long polished desk, her hands braced against its surface, her entire body trembling with barely contained rage."You removed him?" her voice cracked, laced with utter disbelief and fear. "You removed him from the trial?"The director didn't even flinch."It was a necessary decision," he replied calmly. "His condition is unstable. We cannot risk—""You cannot risk?" she echoed, letting out a hollow laugh. "You replaced him with your daughter."It was true she was doing this for personal reasons. But she had done this the right way. She already registered everything."This trial could save his life," Harper pressed, her voice shaking now. "You don't get to take that away from him because of favouritism! His name was on the list! I—I handled—""It is not favouritism," he said. "It is prioritization."Her stomach dropped.Harper swallowed hard, blinking rapidly
Harper stiffened when she felt the tension in Malakai's body. She felt it in the way his hand paused in her hair and in the way his chest rose a little too carefully beneath her cheek.Something had really happened.Malakai didn't answer immediately. Instead, he pressed a tender kiss to the top of her head, his arms tightening around her."...Kai?" she whispered again, her voice softer.He exhaled."I need you somewhere I can see you," he said finally. "Somewhere I can control what gets near you."Her brows pulled together, confusion flashing across her face as she leaned back just enough to look at him."That doesn't answer my question."His jaw tightened.Harper studied him closely. She saw the exhaustion in his eyes, the tension he was trying to hide and the way his thumb kept brushing her arm like he needed the reassurance that she was still there."...You're scared," she realized.Malakai snorted under his breath."I don't get that luxury," he muttered."That's not what I a
Flabbergasted didn't begin to cover it. Harper still couldn't get used to Malakai being so expressive. Parents turned. A few chuckled. One older woman in the row ahead sighed dreamily. Summer spotted him from the stage and lit up like the sun."Daddy!"Malakai grinned and gave his daughter
Harper stood in front of the full-length mirror in her bedroom, dressed in a simple navy dress. The fabric was soft, the design elegant. But it felt too off, considering the storm brewing inside of her. Her throat was tight, her mind brewing with all kinds of thoughts.She was yet to get over
Harper sat beside Malakai in the sterile, fluorescent-lit corridor just outside the operating theatre. The chairs were hard plastic, the kind that made your back ache after ten minutes, but neither of them moved. The air smelled of disinfectant and old coffee. Somewhere down the corridor,
Daniel reclined in the back seat of the sleek black Mercedes, one leg crossed over the other, the faint scent of rain and expensive leather thick in the air. His eyes never left the phone in his hand. The screen glowed softly, illuminating the sharp angles of his face.A single photo filled it







